Esteemed members, I recently acquired a Stanley 4 Square Jack Plane that I need for an upcoming job (we're building a new home and some tasks I've got do do myself). I had a Luban (Qiansheng) low block plane (similar to the Stanley #62) and with my arthritis it was just a tad too much to handle for me and I gave it to my son (who lives in another country so it is not easy to borrow).
From research on the web I understand that this particular Stanley 4 square Jack Plane (one of the early models without any numbers on the bed) is better than the post war ones with the lever cap and yellow background behind the lettering and does tune up quite well. I might be mistaken (old versus newer model) but this was in quite clean condition so went with it.
There is some paint on the frog where it sits under the blade and there is paint on the surfaces where the frog meets the bed.
Perhaps one of the more knowledgeable members can give advice if it is wise to remove this paint or not (these planes were not jappaned, only painted).
Looking forward to your input, Thanks.